On Remembering The Once And Future Mac

Can you feel it in the air? I’m not sure exactly what it is yet, but I think something is happening to the Mac. Maybe Apple listened to all the noise we certified Mac watchers made in recent years.

Lackluster performance. Aging specifications. Broken keyboards. Anemic upgrades. Intel’s lethargy. Whatever it is, I sense change is coming. Maybe Apple knew all along that the traditional PC industry would not go away and the company has been working on the next great thing. The Mac.

Apple’s Mac

No one should argue that Apple is the iPhone company. When co-founder Steve Jobs returned as CEO in 1997 Apple was the Mac. Those days are gone. Before the iPhone came along, Apple prospered with the iPod. But along the way to being the iPhone company and the world’s richest company, Apple diversified.

No one should argue that the Mac is dead or that Apple does not care about a highly profitable $20-billion revenue stream than any traditional PC maker would sell their CEO into slavery to obtain.

So, what’s wrong with the Mac? And conversely, what’s the Mac’s future?

Few technology manufacturers play the long game the way Apple plays the long game. I sense that Apple’s reticence to do much with the Mac’s current line is because it still sells at record levels– a plateau, of course, but the number are excellent– and because the company is working on what should be the next great thing for computer users.

And, despite the iPad ‘What’s a computer?‘ television commercial that challenged the notion, iPhone, iPad, Mac, and, hell, even Watch– are computers.

Alright then, what is Apple working on for the Mac’s future?

A thinner, lighter, faster, more fuel efficient Mac notebook? Higher than Retina resolution displays? Intel Outside? A single development platform that incorporates technology to create a single application that can run on Mac, iPhone, and iPad? Face ID? Better keyboards?

Whatever it is, and whatever new and next-great-thing Macs are moving through Apple’s product pipeline, it better be good because the native’s are restless.

PS: Nimbling’s Mac logo is awesomely devious. The Mac could use a new logo.

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About Jeffrey Mincey

As a Mac, Windows, and Linux system administrator in Atlanta, Georgia, I've used Macs for almost 30 years (mostly late at night). Read more of my articles here. Check out my Mac tips, tricks, and app reviews at Bohemian Boomer.